Austin Scott

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I have a lot to say. My colleague, Mr. Hice, has a lot to do. I am going to yield to Mr. Hice so that he can speak briefly and go back to his committee.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, today, my colleagues and I rise to honor the legislative legacy and the life of my good friend and colleague and fellow Georgia Bulldog, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson. For more than 20 years, Senator Isakson has served the people of Georgia in the United States Congress, tirelessly fighting for the people of Georgia. During his tenure, Senator Isakson has been a bellwether for many in our delegation, both as a Member of this body and as a United States Senator. If I have heard it once, I have heard it a thousand times: Where's Johnny on this? What does Johnny think about this? Have you spoken to Johnny on this? He has offered counsel that has been learned through his 40 years of public service that is invaluable to me and many of us in the Georgia delegation and throughout this Nation. I have many personal stories about Johnny, some of them appropriate for the floor, some of them not. But my first recollection of Senator Isakson was a call that I made as a young teenager when we had a mutual friend and I needed a little help getting him through the ballot process at the fraternity house. Senator Isakson picked up the phone and called and, a few minutes later, the president of the fraternity walked in and said: I am not quite sure who spoke to Senator Isakson, but this is the way the next vote's going to go. And that was all it took. I can't tell you, over the last 20, or, I am sorry, I should say 30- plus years, how much you have meant to me and my family. And when I am back home, I constantly tell the people the respect our delegation and all the Members of the House and the Senate have for you. You have brought forward a sense of bipartisanship in working across the aisle for the good of all Georgians. He has played a key role in building and maintaining his reputation, and I look forward to that special tradition continuing in the coming legislative sessions. Public service is much more than just the service of the Member; it is also the service of the family. Senator Isakson, your children, your wonderful wife, Dianne, we extend our thanks for their commitment to serve Georgia and their support of our delegation and fellow delegation members. Their impact cannot be understated, and we look forward to you enjoying more time with Dianne and your entire family as you enter your next chapter. For decades, Senator Isakson and his family have faithfully served our State. His character, godliness, and statesmanship will be greatly missed in Washington, D.C. His faithful service to the great State of Georgia is second only to our beloved mascot, Uga. He is a giant among men and dogs, dedicated and deliberate, and it has been an honor to work alongside him fighting for the good people of Georgia and the veterans of the United States of America. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I wish all of America could be here to see that, two icons from Georgia embracing. What a wonderful sight that I think is representative of the days of the past and the days to come and how we should work together. Thank you both so much, not just for what you did, but for who you are. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Graves).

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop), my friend and colleague.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Senator Isakson, as well, for his service to our Nation's veterans and his role as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He served our military veterans faithfully for many, many years. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins), my friend and colleague, one of the men who serves us in multiple capacities, both in the Air Force and as a Member of Congress.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Collins for his comments. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath), my colleague.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall), my friend and colleague.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my good friend and colleague.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk), my friend and colleague.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I would remind my friend and colleague that Senator Isakson is a Dawg; he is a Georgia Bulldog. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson), my colleague, a fellow Bulldog and Georgia Beta alumni.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, in the last few minutes, I want to thank all of my colleagues who joined us this afternoon, especially John Lewis, another icon from Georgia. Certainly, America and the world are better off because of both of these men. I think the strong bipartisan presence here lends to the extraordinary impact that Senator Isakson has had on our delegation and the great respect that we have for his service to our State and our Nation. Senator Isakson, I have been told that I can't call you Johnny on the floor, but if I could, I would say: Johnny, we love you. Thank you for your service to the great State of Georgia. America and the world are better places because of the service that you have provided to our Nation and your fellow man. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, House Democrats and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee seem to think that impeachment is nothing but a game. If you can't beat him, cheat him. On September 26, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee fabricated and read on the record during a committee hearing a fake call transcript between the President of the United States and a foreign leader, while keeping the actual transcript of the call in a vault. Now, he continues to conduct an impeachment inquiry against the President in complete secrecy with no vote of the House of Representatives, leaving the American people and most Members of this body in complete darkness. What we have here is that good old case of a game created by illusion. If you can't beat him, cheat him, and game show host Chairman Adam Schiff is at the lead. Behind door number one, we had the Mueller investigation, which found there was no collusion between the President's campaign and Russia. Behind door number two was the call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. Again, the transcript released by the White House shows no quid pro quo, which stemmed from a whistleblower complaint Chairman Schiff orchestrated with in advance and advised the whistleblower how to proceed. What is behind door number three? Nobody knows. But this sham attack on our democracy must be stopped.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Veasey), and encourage those of you who are sportsmen who have not had the opportunity to join the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus to join. It is a wonderful organization. It is the largest bipartisan caucus in the House. We even allow Senators to participate in the skeet shoot. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Richard Hudson, who was our team captain this year. I sent the B team captain, and I look forward to being there next year. I want to congratulate John Rutherford, Sheriff Rutherford, who was top gun over all, with a score of 63; Jody Hice, who was the top Republican from Georgia; and Mark Meadows, from North Carolina was top trap. ``GT'', Glenn Thompson, from Pennsylvania, was top sporting clays. It is a wonderful event every year. I hope that if Members weren't able to join us this year, that they will be able to join us next.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I just wanted Mr. Veasey to get a good look at the trophy. We will certainly be recruiting women next year, but we intend to keep the trophy in good safekeeping for a long time.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, as I have listened, again, I want to point out the same thing I pointed out the other day, that they act as if you go to the doctor and the doctor says you have a dreaded disease, that you can go out the next day and get an insurance contract. That is simply not true. Affordable Care Act contracts are not available until January 1 of next year. You can sign up for them starting in November, but you will not have coverage until the first of next year. And if you think healthcare was expensive and insurance was expensive before the Affordable Care Act, you sure ought to look at it now, because it is significantly more. I just want to point out that there is a lot of good stuff in this legislation, there really is. I commend both the Democrats and the Republicans on the committee for the work that is done to help the American citizens on the prescription drug issue. But as a Representative who has 24 counties, in over half the counties that I represent, they have only one insurance carrier--only one insurance carrier. I can tell you these skinny plans are important. If you lose your coverage, where we live, it is, in many cases, the only thing that is available to you. Is it what people want to have? Is it what we want people to have? I would tell you, no, it is not, but it is sure better than nothing. So I hope that, as things move forward, we will be able to get some things done on the prescription drugs. But again, 24 counties that I represent, half of them only have one insurance option. Those insurance carriers, exempt from the antitrust laws of the country--that is the way they wrote the Affordable Care Act. They left them exempt from the antitrust laws of the country.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Representative Carter, for his work on this. He was a small pharmacy owner before he got here. Prior to my arrival in Congress, I was actually an insurance broker for many years, a health insurance broker. And it always amazed me, as pharmacy benefit managers tried to explain their business model, that they actually couldn't explain their business model. So I rise today in support of our local pharmacies and the unique role that they play in serving patients. I stand here to commend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the recently-proposed rule aimed at addressing direct and indirect remuneration, DIR, fees and drug rebates; rebates that don't go to the consumer, but rebates that go to multibillion-dollar corporations. I frequently make stops at local pharmacies when I am back at my home in Georgia, and I appreciate the services that they provide their customers. I am from a small town, and local pharmacists are a fixture in the community. They are the first line of defense in preventing and treating a customer's needs. They have known most of their customers in their community for many years. I will give you one brief example. As an insurance broker, we had written a contract on a business and the cards had not come in yet. And there is a small-town pharmacy, and then there is the big chain pharmacy. One of the employee's children had gotten sick. Guess which pharmacist was willing to work with the family to get them the medicine before the insurance card came in? And guess which pharmacist was blocked out of the plan by the pharmacy benefit managers? It was the same one, the local, small-town pharmacist. I am troubled on many of these visits, because I know how these community pharmacies are finding it more and more difficult to serve their neighbors while remaining competitive in the larger healthcare marketplace. I hear from my constituents regularly about the financial burden they face as drug prices continue to climb. And the price for a drug today, when they go to get it refilled a month from now may be totally different, and rarely is it lower. Plain and simple, we pay too much for drugs in this country. I would hope that it is something that we could work together in a bipartisan manner. President Trump has already said that he is willing to sign a piece of legislation to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals in this country, and it is something that we should be able to come together and pass to help the American citizens and reduce the cost of healthcare for the American family. Most Americans assume that it is probably a pretty simple transaction for the pharmacist when the pharmacist purchases the drugs, even though they know it is a very complex transaction for them, never knowing what the drug is going to cost prior to going into the pharmacy. But the pharmacy transaction is just as complex; and it is anything but clear and simple, and this is because of the pharmacy benefit managers. They have used direct and indirect remuneration fees, DIR fees, to claw back money from pharmacies on individual claims, long after those claims are believed to have been resolved. It means that a pharmacy doesn't know how the final reimbursement amount will be received for a claim for weeks or even months. And anyone who runs any business, healthcare business or any other business, knows you can't operate when you don't know what your reimbursement is. CMS recently proposed drug pricing rules addressing this issue head- on by requiring all pharmacy price concessions, a subset of DIR, to be included in the negotiated price, which is the price the pharmacy will be reimbursed at the point of sale for dispensing the drug. This directive would move negotiated drug prices much closer to the cost of the drug for the Part D sponsor, essentially eliminating retroactive pharmacy DIR fees. Patients win when pharmacy price concessions are included in the negotiated price. I want to commend the administration for making lowering drug prices a priority; and I want to challenge my colleagues in the Democratic Party to work with the administration and the Republicans in this House to push forward legislation that would continue to reduce the cost of healthcare, specifically pharmaceuticals, for the American citizen. I, along with many of my colleagues on both sides of this aisle, have advocated for these sorts of reforms that bring transparency and accountability to the system. Now who could be against transparency and accountability? These are bipartisan issues on which we share broad agreement. I call on the leadership of this House to put the partisan politics aside; follow the lead of the administration; or walk with the administration to address the lack of transparency in the pharmaceutical industry. Give pharmacies a level playing field to compete, and provide Americans access to affordable prescription drugs. This is something that we should have done for the American citizens long ago and it is something that we can do right now. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend and fellow Georgian, Mr. Carter, for hosting this Special Order this evening. I look forward to continuing to resolve this issue for the American citizens.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, today I would like to recognize a century of contributions by the University of Georgia Tifton Campus to the science of agriculture, the advancement of agricultural technology, and the education of producers, students and the public to promote and protect the U.S. food supply and to help feed people in need around the world. In August 1918, the Georgia General Assembly authorized the creation of a Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station. In May 1919, my hometown of Tifton was chosen as the location due in large part to the surrounding area's vital role in agriculture research, outreach, and education. Today, the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station is known as the University of Georgia Tifton Campus. In its one hundred years, UGA-Tifton has fulfilled its duties to promote research and education. Through the years, UGA-Tifton scientists have developed grain varieties that helped save millions of lives from starvation in India and Africa; they have developed machinery and technology that made agriculture profitable and sustainable; they have contributed to the improvement of livestock genetics and production; they have created a body of scientific research that has helped realize a five-fold increase in peanut production per acre, bringing to life the now robust agricultural economy of the state of Georgia; and they have contributed to the development of forages and turfgrasses that continue to benefit ranchers, athletes and homeowners alike. Just as it was in the early 1900's, UGA-Tifton continues to be a cornerstone of agriculture research, outreach, and education for not only South Georgia, but the state and Southeast region as a whole. The commitment to its mission and to the wellbeing of humanity over this century of service is admirable. As it celebrates this milestone, UGA- Tifton remains poised and eager to continue that legacy of excellence in the pursuit of the great discoveries that will bring economic prosperity to rural America, promote greater public health through better nutrition and a healthier environment, and prevent hunger in the world in the years to come. On Friday, May 3, 2019, UGA-Tifton will celebrate and commemorate its impact and achievements at a showcase event on campus honoring one hundred years of commitment to the community and higher education. I congratulate the faculty, staff and greater UGA-Tifton community on their successes, thank them for their service, and look forward to seeing their continued growth and success for many more years to come.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so the House can immediately bring up meaningful disaster relief. I want to thank my friends and colleagues from across the aisle, Representative Woodall, obviously, Chairman McGovern, Ranking Member Cole, and others on the Rules Committee, for allowing me to speak last night on behalf of the amendment. I also want to thank them for their help in previously passing very similar legislation. My amendment is quite simple. The text contained the same dollar-for- dollar amounts from H.R. 268, the House-passed disaster assistance bill. This bill was a work of compromise and work that many of us representing districts that have been hit by disasters in 2018 worked on. It includes a bipartisan amendment that I and many others sponsored, which raised the crop and livestock loss assistance to $3 billion, from approximately $1 billion. That is included in the final text. Unfortunately, my amendment was not made in order; but, if we defeat the previous question, it will be included in an amendment, along with other important provisions, to help those affected by the natural disasters of 2018. Disaster relief has never been a partisan issue in the United States of America, and it should not be a partisan issue today. I urge my colleagues and I ask every Member in this body to defeat the previous question so that we can immediately bring up legislation to deliver on our promise of passing disaster assistance prior to leaving for the Easter break.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Dunn, for leading this effort. I know his district was hit probably harder than any other district in the United States. Madam Speaker, I rise today alongside many of my fellow colleagues to again stress the hardships many of our fellow Americans faced following these devastating natural disasters of 2018. On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael entered my home State of Georgia as a Category 3 storm. With it, we saw widespread damage from dangerous winds, flooding, and torrential rains. Hurricane Michael traced a path of destruction through south and middle Georgia, straddling both mine and Congressman Sanford Bishop's districts. Our districts are largely rural areas that have also been hit hard by tornadoes and flooding in recent years. These areas are key to the State's agriculture sector, which is Georgia's number one industry. Madam Speaker, the American farmer is the backbone of agriculture, and agriculture is Georgia's number one industry. Fearing the worst of this storm, many farmers began harvesting what they could as Hurricane Michael crept closer and closer to Georgia. It was the best yield we had seen in years for what was gathered before the storm hit. After years of low commodity prices, unfair trade practices, labor shortages, and consecutive years of devastating storms, we needed it. Once Hurricane Michael hit, it was all gone. Not only did we lose billions of dollars in commodity crops, like cotton and peanuts, but we also lost orchards and forests that will take decades to regrow. Since the day after the storm, I have worked side by side with my friend and colleague, Congressman Bishop, in an effort to bring our communities impacted by Hurricane Michael tools they need to recover and rebuild. At every turn, we have worked together to bring attention to the crisis and to bring relief to these farmers alongside our other colleagues who have been impacted. The President and Vice President personally came down and promised help. I was there. For months, we have stressed the magnitude of the damage to our colleagues, and for months we were promised this was a priority for the White House and congressional leadership from both sides of the aisle. ``Any bill to fund the Government has disaster relief.'' I don't know how many times I have heard it. I can't name all the people I have heard it from. As we stand here today 6 months later, these can only be called empty promises. Never before have we seen American communities that were wrecked with catastrophes neglected like this. To this day, OMB has not even submitted a request for disaster assistance, calls to White House staff have gone unheeded, and but for one tweet on April 1, it seems the President has moved on. For months I have received calls from farmers and the lenders they rely on that the financial impacts from Hurricane Michael were becoming increasingly more difficult to bear. Then last week, the Senate showed how truly ugly and partisan politics have become, voting down a measure that would have brought billions in Federal relief that communities in my home State of Georgia and around the country desperately need to get back on their feet again, money to restore infrastructure and restore services, as well as farm aid. Certainly, no one would have stood in the way of disaster relief for States like Vermont or New York. Rural Americans, we have been forgotten. We were forgotten again last week in the Senate's failure to pass disaster assistance. Rural Americans are Americans, too, whether the press likes it or not, and whether certain Members of the Senate like it or not. They need our help to rebuild. If the Senate cannot pass a bill to provide this Federal disaster assistance, the bottom line is farm bankruptcies will continue, and I fear that the community banks and businesses that support the farm sector will too. The truth is if Hurricane Michael had hit Americans who aren't farmers or farmers who aren't Americans, the stories of Washington's apathy to get things done would be the front page of every paper. Mr. Speaker, the American farmers work day in and day out to feed and clothe America and the world. I urge the White House and the Congress to reverse their course of abandoning our farmers and keep the promises that were made to them.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, on October 10, 2018, a Category 3 storm, Hurricane Michael, entered my State of Georgia with a devastating force. It was harvest time for the 2018 crop, and it was the best yield, especially for cotton, that we had seen in years. Farmers who had been suffering in the midst of low commodity prices, unfair trade prices, labor shortages, and consecutive years of storms now had relief in sight. Then entered Hurricane Michael, and it was all gone in a matter of hours. Not just the commodity crops like cotton, but the orchards, too. Since day one post-Hurricane Michael, I have worked side by side with my friend and my colleague, Congressman Sanford Bishop. Hurricane Michael didn't discriminate between our district lines. I want to thank him for his help and his support of our State and our agricultural producers in Georgia. Soon after the storm, the President, Vice President Pence, and Secretary Perdue met with the two of us, our farmers, and our community leaders and promised to help them rebuild. Members of both parties, in both Chambers of Congress, echoed the same support. Six months later, and those promises of support have been broken. Never before have we seen communities that were wrecked with catastrophes neglected like this. Those votes in the Senate yesterday showed a lack of honor and dignity and how truly ugly and partisan politics have become. The truth is, if Hurricane Michael had hit Americans who weren't farmers or farmers who aren't Americans, the stories of yesterday's cowardice would be the front page of every paper. Whether the press likes it or not and whether the Senators from New York or Vermont like it or not, we are Americans, too. And what happened yesterday was cowardly, partisan politics and truly un- American.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Oregon for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I have listened to this debate as it has gone on, and the bottom line is, if you listen to the Democrats, you would think that they had stuck it to the insurance industry with all of the rules and all of the laws that they passed. As we talk about values, I thought I would give you a few values. Aetna in 2010 was trading at $27.39 a share. In 2018, it was $187 a share. You know who you stuck it to? You stuck it to the American citizens. You took the money out of our pockets and you put it into the hands of the insurance industry. If you don't want to talk about Aetna, let's talk about United Healthcare: $29 a share in 2010; in 2018, $246.54 a share. How did that happen? If the American citizens were getting a square deal before the legislation that you passed, that you could only pass if the insurance industry didn't object, how did United's stock go from $29 a share to $246 a share? If that's not enough, how about Humana: $29 a share in 2010 to $246 a share in 2018. How did this happen? This happened because you left the insurance industry exempt from the antitrust laws of the country. Now, how did that work out for the American citizen? We got a mandate by the Democratic Party to purchase a product from an industry that is exempt from the antitrust laws of the country. Now, there are flaws in the legislation that you passed. I am amazed at your refusal to accept that. You can't even buy an Affordable Care Act contract today. Do you realize the next time you can buy it is January 1 of next year? If you are uninsured right now--you all have been telling the American public, if you are uninsured and you go to the doctor and the doctor says you have got cancer, you can get a contract the next day. It is just not true. You can't get it until January 1 of 2020. It is a poorly worded piece of legislation. Regardless of the intent, it is a poorly worded piece of legislation that moved money from the individual citizens of this country to the pockets of the insurance industry, and it needs to be rewritten.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition, although it is a technical opposition. I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, throughout middle and late October and into the first of November, Congressman Bishop and I crisscrossed paths many times and sometimes--in fact, many times--ended up in the same room trying to help our farmers. The storm straddled our districts. I have never seen the devastation to our crops that I saw over those couple of weeks, and that devastation is still there. I can't thank my colleague, Congressman Bishop, enough for his work and his help on this amendment. I would also like to thank his staff and the staff of both the Democrats and Republicans on the Appropriations Committee. The gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt) has been a tremendous amount of help, as has Ms. Granger, and Chairwoman Lowey on the Democratic side. Mr. McGovern has been a lot of help. A lot of people have reached out and been willing to help those of us in the Southeast, and I can't say thank you enough for that. Our losses are estimated at over $5.4 billion for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The underlying text of the bill is good--in fact, I think it is very good--and sets a framework that will be used as we go forward in the years to handle disaster relief for agriculture. The primary problem is that the request of $1.1 billion currently included in the base text simply does not fund the formula for the losses. With Congressman Bishop's help, we have worked to draft the amendment, increasing that amount by $1.9 billion, to a total of $3 billion, which I believe, along with Mr. Bishop, more accurately reflects the need to fund the formula. I, again, hope my colleagues will support the amendment. I want to thank Congressman Bishop and the many others who have worked with us on this. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Rouzer).